Kirk Deeter

F&S Classics: Carp Crazy

The Honest Truth About Boa Laces: Are They Right For You? |

Dispatch from the Dean: The Gear List

The Best Midge-Cluster Fly Patterns for Winter Trout

Editor-at-Large Kirk Deeter and photographer Kevin Cooley spent three days with Trout Unlimited exploring the Alpine Triangle, a rugged expanse of the San Juan Mountains in southwestern Colorado, so named because the region is loosely contained within the shape made by connecting the towns of Ouray,…

Editor-at-Large Kirk Deeter and photographer Kevin Cooley spent three days with Trout Unlimited exploring the Alpine Triangle, a rugged expanse of the San Juan Mountains in southwestern Colorado, so named because the region is loosely contained within the shape made by connecting the towns of Ouray,…

I use two flies at a time in 90 percent of trout fishing situations. On a base level, one might think “double the flies, double the odds,” and to a degree, that may be so. But I’ve learned that with some strategic thought poured into how you mix and match your fly combinations, you can dramatically…

Here’s how to fish for bass, rainbow trout, bluefish, sharks, and more with dry flies.

The fly-fishing world spins on an axis of trout. That’s a fact, for better or worse. It is what it is. Aside from trout, these are some other species of fish you can catch on a fly rod.

This is for all you out there who are thinking about dabbling in fly fishing, but need another reason to take the plunge... Two kids are fishing from the same rowboat, one in the bow, one in the stern. They’re both dunking worms. The kid in the front of the boat catches 12 fish. The kid in the back…

by Kirk Deeter Want to make a New Year’s resolution that will absolutely, positively turn you into a better fly fisher in 2011? I have one: Increase your knowledge of midges and midge fishing, and you’ll catch more trout, guaranteed. Why? Well, for starters, midges (insects of the order Diptera, mos…

by Kirk Deeter I’m starting to take a more critical look at the value of fly fishing gear in the context of the “return on investment” (ROI) it offers. Sure, in pure monetary terms, fly tackle might depreciate faster than the car you drive...unless you’re talking about bamboo rods, or classic Hardy…

I’d have caught that scum-scum sucking pig rainbow trout if... I’d have done what jvento suggested: “Size up to an 18 non-parachute pattern and keep the emerger on. Cast and play the waiting game. Let him find your fly instead of presenting it in front of him.”

Winter can be the most rewarding season of the year for fly anglers. If you can stand the cold, you just might have the river to yourself, experiencing solitude that’s rarely found when the mayflies are hatching in spring and summer. But there’s another reason to get out and fish between December an…

The “Going Deep” features I wrote for Field & Stream are some of my favorite stories I’ve ever written. I started with trout and that eventually led to bass and other species like pike and walleye. The premise was simple: To truly understand fish, you have to “be the fish.” So I put on scuba gear, w…

_ Photo by John Juracek_ Shortly after daybreak on a hot, grimy Montana morning, Pete Cardinal and I stood knee-deep in the Missouri River and watched flies flutter by the thousands. Thick gray columns of the bugs wafted like smoke plumes over the foamy eddy upstream. The trout were already dialed i…

I absolutely loved Dave Wolak’s post on The Lateral Line the other day on the reasons why fly fishing for trout can help anglers be more effective at catching bass. Though I’m mostly considered a “fly guy,” I have covered bass fishing in the past, including the Bassmaster Classic. I’ve always been i…

Greetings from Laxardalur (the Salmon River Valley) in Iceland. We are targeting giant, native brown trout (pictured) with dry flies. We’re fishing large attractor patterns like Fat Alberts, Amy’s Ants, and other beetle-like imitations. Thing is, there are few, if any, natural bugs like this here (m…

Cast without a rod.

After careful thought, I have decided to award the prize (The Little Red Book of Fly Fishing) to Kyle Deneen. He wrote: My cat Schizmak, (I just wanted to put his name in there because its cool) is a long haired Russian Blue, when the winters are around I take his under coat and use it for some of t…